Her Violinist
by trashaaa
Summary: In which Lucy is a professional piano accompanist, and Natsu is her violin soloist. AU. One-shot.


_In which Lucy is a professional piano accompanist, and Natsu is her violin soloist_

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Lucy Heartfilia is a professional pianist.

She's an accompanist, to be exact. She has played with countless soloists and their instruments, but her favorite instrument to accompany has always been the violin. If she didn't play the piano, she probably would've chosen to play the violin. She loved the smell of rosin in the air after a violinist finished a piece. She loved the way the fingers flew across the fingerboard. She especially loved the way that a violin can sound like multiple instruments at once, despite being the smallest instrument in the string family. So naturally, Lucy tried to accompany as many violinists as she could.

When she was a little girl, her music teacher always used to tell her that _it is not the instrument who makes the musician, but rather the musician who makes the instrument._ Lucy never really understood what her teacher was trying to say, but once she decided to go professional, she learned what she had meant.

Every violinist she's accompanied had a great instrument. Tens of thousands of dollars spent, sometimes millions, on getting the perfect violin and bow. Each instrument, of course, played beautifully. The resounding sound of it would fill the whole hall. But, without the musician, the instrument could not live up to its full potential.

Lucy didn't think all the violinists were bad musicians, per say. You could tell they had spent years of their life practicing and perfecting their technique. They were all extremely technically proficient. They played every detail in every piece flawlessly- swells, accents, sforzandos- each note the composer had written down. Yet none of them had the _emotion._ The raw emotion that came with playing the violin was practically non-existent.

To this day, Lucy Heartfilia loves to accompany the violin.

But somehow, she has never had fun while doing it.

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Lucy sighed. She had just finished accompanying an extremely popular professional violinist at Meymandi Concert Hall, and the concert had went well. However, just like every other violinist she's played with, the performance had no emotion whatsoever. The minute they were done, she took off, ready to leave as soon as possible. It was then that Lucy realized she had forgotten her music bag in the warm-up room. _Goddamnit._ Not wanting to have to speak to audience members (like she's supposed to do after a performance), she quickly turned around into the back hallway where all the warm-up rooms were located.

As she approached the warm-up room she had practiced in, she noticed the room next door was brightly lit. _I guess another performer must be warming-up_ , she thought. She walked inside her warm-up room and grabbed the bag that contained all her precious sheet music, ready to leave.

And then she heard a bow fly across the strings of a violin. Lucy gasped. She recognized the piece immediately- Vitali's _Chaconne in G Minor._ She had always loved the piece, even as a young girl. She had once accompanied a violinist playing it, but it lacked the feel Lucy had always enjoyed getting from it. Whoever was playing on the other side of the door, on the other hand, was _amazing._ The piece sounded so beautiful, yet so aggravated at the same time. Lucy was completely blown away. Through the piece, she felt that the violinist made it seem like the world was ending.

In that moment, Lucy knew she had to accompany whoever this was. She quietly opened the door, not wanting to interrupt their warm-up session.

The first thing she noticed was pink. Or rather, someone's pink hair. All Lucy could think was, _what the hell._ She also noticed that the violinist was not wearing a suit like most soloists do. Instead, he was wearing a black dress shirt, tie, and pants. Lucy was confused. _Black on black is generally used as Orchestra clothing,_ she thought.

"Shit! Uh, sorry, I know I'm not supposed to be practicin' in here, but I swear it was only for like, five minutes!" The violinist had suddenly stopped playing and was looking at her sheepishly.

"Oh, um, I'm not really a person in-charge here…" Lucy trailed off.

"Thank the lord. I thought I was gonna get in some major trouble there," he laughed. He looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. "Oof, I should probably get goin'. I can't be late for a performance," he said as he started packing up.

"Wait! You're not a soloist?" Lucy asked.

"Nah, I'm in the North Carolina Symphony though! We're performin' here today, and I decided to get some practice by myself in," he replied.

"Have you ever thought about trying to be a soloist? I heard you playing Vitali's _Chaconne._ It was beautiful," Lucy complimented. "I've never heard anyone play with such raw emotion before."

"Thanks," he said earnestly. "But I'm more of an Orchestra kinda guy. I don't really like playin' alone, if y'know what I mean."

Lucy nodded her head slowly, in understanding. "Well, I think you're an excellent violinist. If you ever want to try going solo, I would love to accompany you. I'm actually a pianist," she said, not wanting to pass up the opportunity. "And if I accompany you, you technically won't be alone on stage."

"Huh, I guess that's true. I s'pose I'll take you up on that offer, Miss…" he said, asking for a name.

"Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Nice 'ta meet ya! I'm Natsu Dragneel."

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On her way home, Lucy was positively radiant. Ignoring the weird looks from the people around her, Lucy continued skipping and humming Vitali's _Chaconne._

Natsu had to leave immediately after she had given him her contact information (so they could start practicing as soon as possible), realizing that he was going to be late for his concert. Lucy giggled at the thought of Natsu rushing to pack up his violin and screaming "holy shit" over and over again. He was the most informal, unruly violinist she'd ever met, but he made her laugh until her insides hurt. She had a feeling that she probably just landed the best accompanist job she would ever get in her whole life, and she was giddy with excitement.

Once Lucy got home, her phone lit up with a notification.

 _Unknown number: hey, wonderin when u want to meet up to practice._

 _Unknown number: it's natsu btw, lol_

Lucy smiled, adding Natsu to her contacts and then replying.

 _Lucy: How about tomorrow morning at Meymandi? About 9am, so we can practice the whole day._

Natsu's reply came almost immediately.

 _Natsu: aw cmon luce 9 is so early, i need my beauty sleep_

Lucy rolled her eyes.

 _Lucy: First if all, who are you calling 'Luce?' And 9am is a perfect time, thank you very much._

 _Natsu: ok luce whatever floats ur boat. c u tmrw weirdo who wakes up at 9am_

 _Lucy: … See you tomorrow, Natsu._

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The next day, Lucy walked to Meymandi Concert Hall, the site of the North Carolina Symphony. She walked to the hall of practice rooms, where she could see one room with the lights on. The minute Lucy walked in, Natsu looked up at her and grinned.

"Hey Luce! What's up?" Natsu greeted.

"Hi, Natsu. Are you ready to practice?" Lucy questioned.

"You bet I am! Let's do this."

The minute Lucy sat down on the piano bench and laid her fingers on the keys, she was reminded why she chose to play the piano. The feeling of the black and white keys against the palm of her hand was something she could never forget. She closed her eyes and played the opening chords of _Chaconne,_ swelling into a forte and breathing for Natsu to come in. She almost gasped at Natsu's G-minor introduction chord- it was filled with such _anguish_. Lucy was once again reminded why she chose to play the piano, albeit for a different reason.

She chose to play the piano to accompany a violinist like Natsu.

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Lucy almost screamed in frustration.

"NATSU. I know you love to play forte, and you're great at it, but you're supposed to be piano here! I'm supposed to be forte," Lucy sighed exasperatedly. They had started off okay, but she should've expected the usual soloist-accompanist problems. No matter the skill level of the violinist or pianist, they still needed practice to be able to sync up properly.

"Sorry, Luce," Natsu said sheepishly. "It just feels like it should be louder than pianissimo there."

"Louder than pianissimo doesn't necessarily mean fortissimo, Natsu. How about you crescendo into a mezzo piano there?"

"How about a forte?" Natsu replied.

"Absolutely not, the audience needs to hear me too," Lucy rubbed her temples. "You might be the soloist, but sometimes the pianist gets moments to shine as well."

Natsu suddenly felt very guilty. "Luce, I'm so sorry. The piece says it's for Violin _and_ Piano, yet here I am tryin' to steal all the spotlight. I know you're a great accompanist."

Lucy slightly blushed, and her eyes softened. A violinist had just acknowledged her as his equal in a piece.

"That's very sweet of you to say, Natsu," Lucy smiled. "Shall we continue?"

They practiced until 8pm.

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Natsu and Lucy practiced almost everyday until their fingers were numb.

Lucy was having the most fun she had ever had not only accompanying, but in her whole life.

Both her and Natsu had improved immensely, and their relationship had, too. She found herself excited to wake up early and meet Natsu to practice. Since they usually finished around dinner time, they even made a tradition of going somewhere to eat together afterwards. The first time Natsu asked her out to eat, Lucy was embarrassed. It felt like a _date._ She quickly realized afterwards, however, that Natsu was as dense as a brick and just liked eating food with his friends.

She and Natsu texted on a regular basis, too, as if seeing each other for 12 hours everyday wasn't enough. They were practically attached at the hip. She met his friends, Gray, Erza, Jellal, and Gajeel, and he met her friends, Levy, Juvia, and Cana (Gray and Juvia seemed to hit if off, and strangely enough, so did Gajeel and Levy. It was obvious that Erza and Jellal were already a thing). Honestly, it almost felt like her and Natsu were dating, and Lucy was admittedly okay with that. With the concert date fast approaching, she wondered if she should make a move after the concert was over.

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It was the day of the concert. The concert featured the North Carolina Symphony playing Tchaikovsky's _Romeo and Juliet_ , Leonard Bernstein's _Overture to Candide_ , Beethoven's _Symphony No. 9, 1st Movement,_ and of course, their very own first-chair, second-violinist Natsu Dragneel playing Vitali's _Chaconne in G Minor_ , accompanied by pianist Lucy Heartfilia.

To say Lucy was ecstatic was an understatement. She was literally _glowing._ At that right moment, her phone ringed with a message from Natsu.

 _Natsu: hey, are u ready for today?_

Lucy quickly typed out a reply.

 _Lucy: Totally. I am so excited. We worked super hard, Natsu. You'll do great, I know it._

 _Natsu: thanks luce, i know u will do great too. im kinda nervous about performing in front of an audience ;-; its my first time being alone on stage._

 _Lucy: Don't worry about it. Remember, as an accompanist, I'll always be there with you on stage._

 _Natsu: your the best :) c u tonight weirdo_

Lucy shook her head at the incorrect use of the word 'your,' but she was laughing anyways.

 _Lucy:_ _See you tonight. It's "you're," by the way. And I am not a weirdo._

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Lucy had arrived at Meymandi Concert Hall. She took in the smell of the 1,700 seat venue, and once again made her way to the hall of warm-up rooms.

There, she met Natsu. She felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. She met Natsu just a few months prior in the same exact concert hall and warm-up room. Except today, Natsu was not playing, and looked as white as a sheet.

"Uhh… Natsu? Are you okay?" Lucy waved her hand over his face.

"Oh, it's Luce," Natsu acknowledged her presence but did not meet her eyes.

"Natsu, are you feeling nervous?" Lucy inquired.

Natsu nodded. He had beads of sweat on his forehead, and his eyes were darting around the room.

"Natsu. Look me in the eye," Lucy requested.

Natsu looked up at the blonde-haired beauty. Lucy placed her hands on his shoulders, locking eyes with him.

"Natsu Dragneel. You will do amazing, and I know it. I saw you practice everyday with me. You are hands down, the best violinist I have ever played with. I've only known you a few months, but you managed to wiggle your way into my heart so fast. I asked myself, _why?_ , at one point, but I realized that it's because you're Natsu. You're loud, you always call me a weirdo, and you have terrible text grammar. But you're also sweet, kind, and caring, and you are always looking out for me. You're _the_ Natsu Dragneel. Your personality shines through the way you play, and it's breathtaking. I am always going to be on the stage with you as your accompanist. Don't forget that, okay?"

Natsu blinked. And then he kissed her.

Lucy's eyes widened. _Natsu was kissing her! Natsu!_ She leaned forward, deepening the kiss.

After a few moments, they separated, foreheads touching.

"Luce, if I ask you to be my girlfriend, will you be my accompanist forever?"

"Of course, silly. I've been waiting for you to ask that," Lucy smirked.

And so they kissed again.

"Wait, shit, it's concert time!" Natsu proceeded to run out the door with his instrument in hand, Lucy giggling behind him. She had a serious case of some déjà vu.

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"We hope you enjoyed today's concert. We'll be closing off the night with a very special performance. Our very own first-chair, second-violinist Natsu Dragneel will be playing _Chaconne in G Minor_ by Tomaso Antonio Vitali, and he'll be accompanied by pianist Lucy Heartfilia. Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you once again for coming, and we hope you'll come back to another NC Symphony concert!"

 _The conductor gave a pretty good introduction,_ Lucy thought as she walked onto stage behind Natsu. She sat down on the piano bench and looked over at Natsu, who was adjusting his tie. Lucy thought he looked very handsome in his clean, crisp black suit. She watched Natsu put his chin on the chin rest and place his bow on his strings. He then looked over at Lucy, who nodded. She put her hands on the keys, breathed, and started. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Natsu smile at her.

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When they finished playing, the whole hall was silent.

Then, the audience stood up, and gave rambunctious applause.

Lucy and Natsu stood up. They clasped hands, took a bow, looked at each other, and beamed.

Lucy suddenly remembered what her teacher had told her when she was young. _It is not the instrument who makes the musician, but rather the musician who makes the instrument._

Lucy know fully understood what she meant. It didn't matter how expensive Natsu's instrument was. He would sound just as great on $70 violin as he would on a $1,000,000 violin.

In that moment- the crowd's applause, Natsu's one hundred-millionwatt grin, her hand clasped with his as they bowed to the audience- Lucy knew she was going to be his one and only accompanist forever.

 _Fin._


End file.
